Heart of Stone
by Kurai Hitokiri
Summary: Such a relationship could never be, after all, I am but her servant, and she the master: What she wants is my will. She would be mocked and disgraced for such a relationship. ZeldaxLink


**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, or any of these characters.

**Author's Note:** Hello, name's Kurai Hitokiri, writer of fanfictions. This story is basically a Zelda and Link story… Well, it's the oneshot I promised on my profile. Anyway, if you like Adventure/Romance, I have a Zelink called **Childhood Ignorance**, why don't you check that out? Anyway, I hope you enjoy, I got this idea while I had another bout of insomnia.

**Heart of Stone**

My story is one wrought with pain and frightful images… Nightmarish memories, gruesome bloodcurdling tales that even the bravest of men cannot even help but quake in fear… Memories that I keep locked within my heart, the key hidden far beyond the reaches of human hands.

I am Link, son of none, and knight to Her Highness, Queen Zelda Harkinian. Another one of the many men that gallivanted off when he was young, eager to loose his life in battle and to be drenched in the crimson tides of war.

My life, for the seventeen years of my bloody existence, has been nothing but a living hell.

I first came to the palace four years ago, when I was merely thirteen years old, a bright eyed teenager with dreams of being a war hero, trained by my Master to become the best knight possible, all for the sake of my dearly departed mother, who upon her death begged for me to become well known so that I might have a better life than the one that she herself had wasted.

I passed the entrance exams with flying colors, surprising for one so young as myself, usually knights are young men around their early twenties, I was the first to enter in teenage years.

I rose quickly through the ranks, proving again and again that I was no ordinary knight. I was content with the small, effortless tasks that they had given to me. It was almost _too_ easy, and I remained blind and innocent… Until the war came.

Lord Ganondorf of the Gerudo suddenly lashed out against us, hitting us with an army of beasts and dark magic. The cries of Hylians as they were slaughtered echoed through our grassy plains during the cool of the night, a symphony of terror.

King Harkinian, Her Highness's dearly departed father, quickly armed his many forces, giving us the best quality of sword, shield, and armor that we could afford, taking up his own sword and donning his own armor to join us at war.

We marched for months toward the desert, encountering pestilence, hunger, and nightmares. Men vomited from eating their moldy rations, horses died and were left behind to rot, we ate the flesh of our dead comrades and drank their blood to survive, such was the desperation.

However, if it wasn't miserable enough with us, it was with the people.

Our beloved subjects were gaunt and haggard. Often we would come upon piles of dead carcasses, children crying nearby at the disarray of their villages. Women cried in pain over the bodies of their dead husbands and families… Such sights sent venom coursing through my blood, making my arm ache with eagerness to slit Ganon's neck and watch as he gasped in pain as he died, begging for mercy.

The battle was long and bloody, the sounds of swords clanging together, and the cries of soldiers as they died must have echoed back to our motherland and found their way into the heavens for the Holy Trio to cover their ears.

Our forces prevailed, however, with myself shoving my sword through Ganon's thick neck and slashing him to a good many pieces. I remember the horrible sight of his mangled body, limbs in disarray, his lifeblood pooling out in a dark puddle about him on the snow white desert sand, his glazed eyes thick with disbelief. That, by far, must have felt as though it was the best moment of my life.

King Harkinian, however, did not fair very well, he had been mortally wounded in battle, and even though we, his loyal knights, were able to carry him back to Hyrule and bring his best healers to his side, he perished of infection. He had died, leaving his fourteen year old daughter, Zelda, an orphan and the crown to the Hylian Throne.

Queen Zelda ascended the throne, a young girl forced to grow up with her father's sudden death. Her first act as Queen was to send forth healers to every part of Hyrule, as well as supplies. Hyrule was going through hard times, and the pressure must have been great on the young Queen, but still, she was able to tolerate the sadness of losing her father and the pressures of the throne, always with a smile on her face and a charming, cheerful countenance.

Her Highness did not allow me to fade into the background, she announced me a national Hero of Hyrule, assigning me to her side as bodyguard and Head of the Royal Army.

She often tried to speak to me when we were alone together, smiling and asking me questions. However, I always managed to make her attempts fail, answering with a simple reply before crossing my arms across my chest and staring out into the distance.

I will not ignore the fact that she is in fact… beautiful.

Her Highness has skin as pale and smooth as alabaster, with beautiful Goddess carved features. Her blonde hair cascades down her beautiful shoulders in languid curls, making her sky blue eyes, full of wisdom and kindness, all the more striking.

I must say that in my few years being under her service I have become… attached to her in a certain manner. But such a relationship could never be, after all, I am but her servant, and she the master: What she wants is my will. She would be mocked and disgraced for such a relationship, and her ancestors would most likely cry out in their tombs if she were to even lay a hand on a commoner.

Still, I try not to think of this as I stand here in a soft green tunic, my shaggy blonde hair curling over my bright blues, arms crossed as I stand silently stand before Her Highness's desk, awaiting her command.

She hasn't spoken yet, she simply stares at me in a probing fashion, her blue eyes wandering over my body, coming to rest on my face as if to memorize every detail.

Her hands slide across the oaken wood of her desk as she pushes herself up, her simple blue dress swaying on her thin form. Her heels clack against the hardwood floor, and she steps closer to me… so close that I can count every lash surrounding those beautiful sky blue eyes…

She parts her luscious red lips to speak, oh what it would be like to kiss them? …Wait a moment, I should not be thinking such things… I must scold myself and remember to not think such things again.

"Sir Link, we have known each other for a good many years, I do believe," she says, her melodious voice filling the room with such warmth that you might think that a fire was crackling merrily in the dead fireplace. "Three, if I am not mistaken."

"Yes, Your Highness," I say automatically. Oh Goddesses, is she aware of how close she _is_ to me? How can she be so casual, such closeness would be frowned upon if we were not in her private quarters, I shudder to think how much gossip the maids would spread about the castle. It would be positively scandalous!

"You must wonder why I have called you here, Sir Link," she says softly, smiling up at me, "It is to discuss matters…" What matters, have I not been a good servant to her?

"For three years I have known you, Sir Link, and for three years I have felt something for you so strong and unbearable that I cannot restrain it any longer…" she pauses for a moment, her blues downcast toward the ground, "Being in your presence torments my soul, I cannot take it any longer, else my soul would shatter to a million shards."

_'Does she hate me?' _I ask myself. I cause her torment and pain? If so, I never would have come near her, I hate seeing Her Highness upset… it torments _my_ soul.

Almost as though guessing my thoughts, she laughs, her mirth sounding like the trilling of flutes… laughter that I could never tire of. "I must say, Sir Link, though you are a man of few words, your expression does give away a great deal of things."

At this I went horribly red, my hand instinctively going to the back of my head, a habit that I have had for a good deal of many years. Suddenly, remembering that I was in the presence of the Queen, my hand jerks back to my side and my embarrassment fades. My countenance goes back to its usual stoic nature as I mentally berate myself for showing emotion… it is not my way.

"Sir Link, going back to the subject, there is something that I want to tell you most earnestly," Her Highness says, taking a gentle hand and putting it to my cheek in a way meant for lovers.

My muscles harden the instant I feel her warm hand touch my cold and rough skin. Something in my mind says that I should back away and leave the room while another, the stronger entity, keeps me rooted to the spot to make me listen to the words that this woman will speak.

"I love you."

Those three, simple words fill the air and cloud my ears. My knees threaten to give out beneath me… I'm simply shocked, I never thought that Her Highness would say something like this to me. Goddesses, this can't be happening, it's all a dream…

Suddenly her lips are on mine, so warm and soft as she gently kisses me with as much passion and love she can muster.

My arms instinctively wrap around her waist and my lips respond automatically, moving in perfect sync with hers. Her hands are tangling through my hair, and she's pressed herself harder against me… Never before have I felt something so strong before, it seems to fill my entire body…

Love.

Hesitantly she pulls herself from my lips, her arms resting about my neck as she gazes nervously into my eyes, waiting for some response.

After a few minutes, I manage to find my voice, words tumbling out in a shaky manner.

"Your Highness… I… I…" I can't say the words I want to… The words that must have been the most cliched, yet most tender in existence. "…I love you as well, but-."

Her finger has covered my lips as she smiles, eyes overflowing with love and happiness. She knows what I'm going to say... Was I really that predictable?

"We can worry about other things later, Sir Link," she says softly, her lips only inches away from my own. I can feel her hot breath on my face, almost teasing me. "Right now, we are only a man and woman in love… Cast aside our ranks, and cast aside your heart of stone for just this one moment."

Without another word, her lips capture mine again, and we share another long and passionate kiss… Never before has anything felt so right in my life…

And so I dutifully obey her Highness as I always have, casting aside my Heart of Stone, but perhaps not just for this moment, but for the rest of my days.

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**Author's Note:** Uhm… I don't know what the heck I was thinking when I was writing… do you? Anyway, I'd really, really, REALLY love it if everyone would review… I need to know what to work on for my writing.


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